Sardesai meets Israeli officials during pvt visit to Jerusalem

Goa Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai has called on officials of the Israel's foreign affairs ministry to discuss how the coastal state and the West Asian country could work in cooperation with each other.

Sardesai, who is on a private visit to Jerusalem, on Wednesday met a delegation, including Israeli's Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV) head Gil Haskel, deputy head Yuval Fuchs, overseas programme director Daniel Zonshine and South East Asia director Yaron Mayer.

"A discussion took place on concrete projects of cooperation between Goa and Israel. We are looking forward to more cooperation on various fronts with them (Israel) in the near future," Sardesai said in a statement.

The deputy chief minister said he will be holding more meetings with officials of other departments for ties with Israel in fields like water resources, rural development and others, which are their key expertise areas.

Sardesai, who holds the agriculture portfolio in the Pramod Sawant-led ministry, is head of the Goa Forward Party, which is an ally of the ruling BJP in the state.